6 ms·

At least the authorities looking at them. In the states we have to rely on stuff like the Innocence Project, unfortunately.

by tych0 7y ago

numakerg 7y ago
And they're not perfect either. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reaso... - Innocence Project doesn't take on cases where DNA link was established - Man served four years for sexual assault after his DNA was found to be “consistent” with samples from the victim - Turns out the DNA testing failed to establish a match between two of his own samples - This evidence was not presented to the jury - Lab tech makes numerous errors but is cleared because their lawyer demonstrated that here errors "were a product of systemic failures that included inadequate supervision".
- pmoriarty 7y ago
  Are there any independent organizations which regularly audit these and other crime labs?
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
Broken_Hippo 7y ago
I was just thinking that - there would be no systematic review of people. We'd just let them sit out the jail sentence. It is a tragedy that we have to rely on such things instead of just admitting mistakes.
maxheadroom 7y ago
>In the states we have to rely on stuff like the Innocence Project, unfortunately. The American justice system is built upon the premise of retributive punishment and not rehabilitative punishment; so, they believe that whoever is in jail/prison must've earned that because, to them, the system is infallible - when, clearly, it is not. To that end, the system in the states depends on bodies filling the cells. It doesn't really matter to the system which bodies fill the cells, as long as it's someone: The company operating the jails/prisons are going to be turning a profit and not dropping the jails/prisons back onto the system to be responsible for. So, to the system, what does it matter, yeah? We should also mention that felony disenfranchisement[0] allows scenarios where people can lose the right to vote for life. In cases, such as in Florida, that right can only be restored at the whim of the governor[1,2]. Florida isn't alone in this, to be sure, but it demonstrates a problem that is based on a flaw in American society, overall. In other words, if society gives zero fucks about its own citizens - even after they've paid their dues to society - why would anyone expect the system to care, when it's counter-productive to the system's own benefit? [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement#United_States_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement#Unit... [1] - http://www.npr.org/2015/12/11/459365215/ex-felons-fight-to-restore-their-right-to-vote http://www.npr.org/2015/12/11/459365215/ex-felons-fight-to-r... [2] - https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/02/01/federal-judge-floridas-ex-felon-voting-ban-is-unconstitutional-233251 https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/02/01/fed...
- vastoi 7y ago
  Didn’t Florida just pass an amendment to restore voting rights to felons? https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restoration-efforts-florida https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restora...

At least the authorities looking at them. In the states we have to rely on stuff like the Innocence Project, unfortunately.

by tych0 7y ago

At least the authorities looking at them. In the states we have to rely on stuff like the Innocence Project, unfortunately.

numakerg 7y ago

And they're not perfect either. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reaso... - Innocence Project doesn't take on cases where DNA link was established - Man served four years for sexual assault after his DNA was found to be “consistent” with samples from the victim - Turns out the DNA testing failed to establish a match between two of his own samples - This evidence was not presented to the jury - Lab tech makes numerous errors but is cleared because their lawyer demonstrated that here errors "were a product of systemic failures that included inadequate supervision".

pmoriarty 7y ago
Are there any independent organizations which regularly audit these and other crime labs?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Broken_Hippo 7y ago

I was just thinking that - there would be no systematic review of people. We'd just let them sit out the jail sentence. It is a tragedy that we have to rely on such things instead of just admitting mistakes.

maxheadroom 7y ago

>In the states we have to rely on stuff like the Innocence Project, unfortunately. The American justice system is built upon the premise of retributive punishment and not rehabilitative punishment; so, they believe that whoever is in jail/prison must've earned that because, to them, the system is infallible - when, clearly, it is not. To that end, the system in the states depends on bodies filling the cells. It doesn't really matter to the system which bodies fill the cells, as long as it's someone: The company operating the jails/prisons are going to be turning a profit and not dropping the jails/prisons back onto the system to be responsible for. So, to the system, what does it matter, yeah? We should also mention that felony disenfranchisement[0] allows scenarios where people can lose the right to vote for life. In cases, such as in Florida, that right can only be restored at the whim of the governor[1,2]. Florida isn't alone in this, to be sure, but it demonstrates a problem that is based on a flaw in American society, overall. In other words, if society gives zero fucks about its own citizens - even after they've paid their dues to society - why would anyone expect the system to care, when it's counter-productive to the system's own benefit? [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement#United_States_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement#Unit... [1] - http://www.npr.org/2015/12/11/459365215/ex-felons-fight-to-restore-their-right-to-vote http://www.npr.org/2015/12/11/459365215/ex-felons-fight-to-r... [2] - https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/02/01/federal-judge-floridas-ex-felon-voting-ban-is-unconstitutional-233251 https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2018/02/01/fed...

vastoi 7y ago
Didn’t Florida just pass an amendment to restore voting rights to felons? https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restoration-efforts-florida https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/voting-rights-restora...